What's Up Wednesday

 

It's been busy around here. I've had several of my twice yearly appointments over the last few weeks, and true to 2026 form, I now have to go to MORE appointments. Annoying. There's a wee question on my mammogram that I need to get biopsied. I'm choosing to believe it's nothing until proven otherwise because that's how I stay sane (ish). That test won't be until the end of October so that's a long time to spiral. Hence why I'm choosing not to. I also need to get my carpal tunnel checked out. It's not been bad lately, but now that I'm back to do choring more days per week (and it's colder out), I'm having some troubles again. Not sure when that will be yet, they're supposed to call me. Of course, I have very few days that I have help to go to these appointments... so that's stressful. But I'll figure it out! Cause that's what we do, right?

Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about my seemingly semi-retired horses shall we? We were able to ride every day last week, but most of the rides were pretty short. The weekend was another story! We had a bit storm that thankfully was kind to my farm. It rained for three straight days pretty much. And the winds were pretty intense. To prepare and keep the barn in good shape, I cleaned and put the windows up for the stalls. 

I put the horses out both days, but Saturday it was kind of limited turnout. I put the boys out in the walkouts behind their respective stalls and let Shiny go in the ring. (She's the smartest, if she sensed a tree falling she'd get herself out of dodge. I'm not sure the boys would.) 

I knew they wouldn't want to be out too long as it was supposed to get more and more windy and the rain was supposed to get heavier as the day went on. So I didn't rotate anyone, and just got the chores done as fast as I could. They seemed happy to come in and I kept them stuffed with hay. For these three, that's all they need really. 

Sunday actually wound up being better than expected. It still rained all morning, but there was a break in the action in the afternoon so I was able to graze them all. 

I only snapped pics of Al though. He was being so brave! He dragged me over to the side yard to graze which was interesting because he's never EVER wanted to go over there. He saw the cars go by and was happy as a clam over there. Very proud of him. 

Monday it was raining AGAIN. The entire day. Which would have been a day off anyway, so no harm there. But Rita was pretty sad we didn't get our walk in. Not that sad, because she hates rain. But still disappointed I'm sure. 

Tuesday was annoying. I originally had a dr appointment scheduled for a couple weeks ago, but I had to reschedule because their phlebotomist quit the evening before I was supposed to get bloodwork and I wouldn't have been able to get it done in time for my appointment. When I rescheduled the appointment, I did not yet know that my worker would need to immediately cut her hours from five days to three. She's no longer working on Tuesdays. But I didn't want to reschedule my appointment again. So I got up, fed the horses, showered, gave them more hay, then went to my appointment. Chores got done after that. By the time I was done with all that it was almost 4pm. I opted to just ride Al since he's the one I don't want having a million days off in a row. (We were at three after Monday as it was.) Considering all the time off, we had an okay ride, but we did very much stay on a fairly small circle. The neighbor has been quite busy next door doing who knows what. Which is not terribly helpful after all those weather days.

Today I had my follow up mammogram in the morning, but thankfully DID have help in the barn. So when I got back I was able to just start riding and I got everyone done! Well... mostly anyway. Eros and Shiny had nice full rides. Despite Bang and Clang next door. I shit you not, he was climbing on a ladder and putting some kind of sealant or stain or something on the roof of his shed. RIGHT next to the ring. That was for Shiny's ride. I forget what he was doing for Eros' but it wasn't that bad. I saved Al for last in hopes he would be done with his list of things to do over there. But alas. It only got worse. I got on Al, and walked for a few minutes. When the neighbor decided that was the exact moment he needed to rake the tree line between us. Al had already told me before I even got on that he wasn't into it today. But I insisted and promised him if we had to just walk that's what we would do. So we walked for awhile, did some standing and staring while the raking was going on, and finally did a little trotting toward the end of the ride. It was a nice trot, forward and with proper contact. So who am I to argue with that? I didn't bother cantering because I had zero faith that Bang and Clang was done torturing us for the day. Sometimes you take the win and call it a day. I wasn't sad about it, and neither was Al.

So that's about the long and the short of it over here. Life keeps lifing! Thank goodness for horses!

Not much sunshine here lately, but we did get a sunset rainbow!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew! Another week gone by. We are still in that somewhat inconsistent schedule in the saddle around here, but I did at least sit on my horses most of the days last week. I didn't have a ton of time. My helper is only working three days a week, and I had a few things I had to get to in the evenings so it just didn't leave a lot of time per horse for riding. And also they were back working on the fence Saturday. Sunday was a rain out. But you know? You can only do the best you can with what you have to work with. So that is what we are doing. The best you can do is all you can do, amiright?

The horses are fine though. A little under muscled. A little less fit than I'd like. But they're fine. We haven't jumped and probably won't until next week sometime. We have a crazy weather system heading this way for the weekend that I think will mean several days off for the horses followed by a very wet ring. But that might be good for getting a few things done that I haven't had time for. Last Sunday when we were rained out I cleaned all the bird poo off the barn floor and washed all the stall fronts. 

I have to tell you guys, even though it's a little exhausting, ever since I got caught up with keeping the stall walls clean, especially where they eat and drink, we have so few flies in the barn. I mean of course there ARE flies, but not like in years past. So definitely worth it. Now if only I could cure the biting gnat problem. I usually have so many dragon flies that the gnats aren't terrible, but this year not so much. It's the only reason I'm looking forward to a frost! 

We have officially entered the time of year when the horses just keep breaking stuff. I've replaced more fence rails this week than I have all summer! I've also had to reattach the hasp on Al's door, and Eros keeps pushing his door over the little stopper. They're itchy. I'm itchy. We need the gnats and mosquitos to go! 

I don't really have too much to share otherwise. We're just plugging along, trying to get all the things done before winter. I have a few calls in for quotes to get some trees taken down, but no one gets back to you. I feel like it's very hard to get things done these days. Even this fence project. It's been going on for months and should have taken a few days. I guess it's a lesson in patience and delaying gratification. 

I have someone coming to interview Friday to work here in the mornings. Sounds like she wants and needs the job so fingers crossed please! Hopefully it will work out and for the long term. She lives only about 15 minutes away so that would be convenient for her as well. 

Hope you're all doing great! 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Ugh. Guys. I'm sorry. I feel like all I write about is being overwhelmed. And I don't even have a full time job. I shouldn't be so overwhelmed! But here we are. I think being on prednisone is amplifying my angst. 

The latest source of stress is that my current helper who is very good at the job, just informed me that she needs to cut back to two days a week. Which doesn't really provide me what I need so I can do my part time job, take care of my house and barn, and still work my horses appropriately. I'm already not working my horses appropriately. Maybe I have too many horses. Maybe I'm just getting too old to do all the things. But I don't want to give all this up. I love my barn and my horses. I just need help. And it's so hard to find! Back on the hunt I guess. I think I'd be less worked up if my stupid old lady body would cooperate. I mean really. I'm trying to do all the things, but also having carpal tunnel. tennis elbow, a bruised tailbone (thanks Eros), messed up knee, and ALL THE ITCHING. (I'm not sure the prednisone is working.) 

Anyway. That's what I'm up to this evening. Well that, and when I go out to do night check I also have to go out to the back of the property and spray a wasps nest. All in a days work! But this is What's Up Wednesday and not What's Up Wednesday Night. So let's look back at the week!

I brought Pivo out last Wednesday because I miss having media, and I wanted to see my horses go. It worked really well which was a relief, so hopefully I'll start using it more. I haven't really jumped since the day I busted my butt because well... my butt hurts! So I just have a few screen shots from Pivo that day. I also didn't record Shiny because it was threatening to rain by the time it was her turn. But here are a couple screen shots of E and Al:

One of them is more willing to engage than the other... Just kidding, the Al photo was just during warm up. We didn't really get much accomplished last week. Wednesday was a good riding day. Thursday was fine, but I had a hay delivery which is kind of distracting to ride with. 

Then Friday I was a bit rushed because I had to go to Rosh Hashana services. Saturday was similarly disorganized. I thought the fence people were coming, but then they didn't. Chores took a little longer because I had to clean up from our hay delivery (before the rain the next day) and I had to be at a family dinner at 6:30. So I wound up just hand grazing everyone. There's only so many hours in a day. Sunday was an absolute deluge of rain, so I did chores and groomed the horses. I also made a couple of videos for TurnoutHQ. One was a training braid tutorial and the other how to hang a fake tail.

This week I should be able to ride everyday. Today was short because of family dinner at 6, but everyone had a decent ride. Well. Al was terrible, but the other two had good rides. Al is generally terrible when I am feeling rushed and I know this. I should probably just lunge him on the days I don't have a lot of time. I don't know why that lesson doesn't stick with me ever. Tomorrow will also be a little tight because I have my annual mammogram in the evening. (They have such weird scheduling, but it's convenient for me!) Friday though, Friday I have ALL day. My worker was already scheduled off, so I'll have chores then riding. Which lately, chores seem to zap all my energy and the rides are then short. But I'm going to try and be a better person and just push through that and get something done with the horses. Fence guys WILL be here Saturday, so those rides will be distracted. And Sunday it's looking like more rain. 

For the moment, going forward, I'm hoping my helper will stay on for Mondays and Wednesdays so I can have my Monday off and then have help for our Wednesday morning staff meeting. I'm also going to bring up my lack of energy to my doctor at my next appointment which is the end of the month to see if there's a reason for it that we can fix or if I'm just incredibly lazy. If there's something I can do to have more energy, it might be fine to have help only a couple days a week. But as is now, it's not going to be sustainable. Especially as it gets colder and more of my body starts complaining again. 

Anyway. Sorry to be such a debbie downer. Thanks for sticking with me even if I am an Eeyore. Hopefully I'll figure things out and start having fun things to talk about again soon. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

So for once, my week actually went almost to plan! I mean, right up until the squirrel incident anyway. 

Little reminder of the squirrel incident I shared yesterday...

The horses all got exactly the rides I had planned until Friday. I was pretty sore after my unexpected dismount. I still rode Shiny and popped her over a few jumps, but I opted out of riding Al just in case. I've learned that with him, if I'm not at least 85% of normal, I shouldn't get on him. Instead he had a nice lunge. And I don't think he minded that. Here are a couple of screen shots from my short jump schools with Eros and Shiny though:

Saturday and Sunday they were supposed to be working on my fence again, so I had planned for easy riding days anyway. My sore tailbone was grateful for that! Of course, nothing truly goes to plan. The guy doing the work wasn't feeling well so he only wound up working for an hour before calling it a day. Which is totally understandable, but I wish he hadn't come at all because it disrupted Shiny's turnout and feeding schedule for not much reward. (I think they only got two posts done that day.) Fortunately, Shiny doesn't really care that much. On the plus side, it was quiet for riding time! I wound up only riding Eros though. I figured he'd be a good test for what my body was up for since he's big like Al, but mostly trustworthy (save for any weird squirrel encounters). It REALLY hurt to get on. Trotting wasn't too bad, but canter was pretty miserable. So I figured I'd call it a riding day with just the one. I took the other two out for grass though. Suited them just fine. 

Sunday they were back to work on the fence so things went more to my original plan. My body was improving but still pretty sore. After chores, I opted to test ride with Shiny first this time. It was okay. And they were wrapping up with the yard as I finished with her, so I decided to give Al a ride too. I kept him to half the ring out of caution (I wasn't really interested in any spinning spooks this weekend) and he was good. And I opted to be done after him. Eros got to hand graze still, which is all he really wants anyway. 

We all enjoyed a day off Monday and then Tuesday we were back to normal. My body is mostly recovered, just a little soreness in the tailbone area still but much improved! They all had nice rides Tuesday, Al even used the full ring like a normal horse with almost no dragon breathing! It helps so much when Bang and Clang stays in his garage. 

And that's really all that's happening around here. How are you guys?? I'm a little behind in reading your blogs, but I'm getting caught up slowly but surely!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Oh man, guys, it's SEPTEMBER. I feel like this summer just passed me right by. But we still have a few more weeks of summer technically, so I'm hoping to make the most of them. And getting things done around the property is certainly productive, so even if that messes with my riding time, it's for the greater good of the farm. Or so I'm trying to convince myself anyway. This coming weekend they'll be (hopefully) finishing up the fences, so I'm not sure how much productive riding will happen. Probably none with Al if I'm being honest with myself. But for that reason, I'm making sure to make the most out of our weekday rides this week. 

Anyway, when we left off last week, Rita had gone in for her dental and had to have THREE teeth pulled. Poor baby. She was pretty swollen for a few days, but she's pretty much back to her old self now a week later. One more week until she can have her favorite chew sticks though. She's been having cream cheese on a lick pad instead which she seems to enjoy just as much. 

I only had time to ride one horse last Wednesday since I had to pick Rita up at 3:30 and then had family dinner that evening. I did Al since I always feel like he benefits most from less days off. He was awful that day though, so I think I made a poor choice! In his defense, they had a lot of days off the week before due to my being on my own and having a lot of braiding to do. Took him a few days to regulate I think. 

I wound up also giving the horses Sunday off. My town's country fair was this weekend, and I really wanted to spend some time there Sunday afternoon. So I did! Though I almost didn't. 

Saturday morning, at 7:45 the people who had been working on my fence said they would be at the farm at 8:30. But the problem with that was we didn't schedule that. And since I wasn't aware anyone would be working at the farm, I didn't get the horses out until 7:30 since I didn't think we were in any sort of rush. Which meant Shiny would have to come in after less than hour. I really wasn't okay with that. So I told him I hadn't expected him, and that he'd need to start later, after 10:30. And then I realized he would be expecting to work Sunday too which is when I had planned to just turn horses out and do chores early, then leave for the fair for the afternoon. I wouldn't do that if they were working. First because I can't turn out where they're working, and second because while these guys are very nice to work with, they can't be left unattended. And at first I just resigned myself to not getting to do what I wanted. But the more I stewed on it, the more I decided I was pretty tired of always acquiescing to other people dictating my time without consulting me at all. And also, I literally have done nothing this summer but stuff around the farm and braiding. I deserved to get to do one fun thing! So I let him know we could make Saturday work but not Sunday. He then tried to guilt me into changing my mind but I stood my ground. So they're coming this weekend instead. Hopefully they'll get it all done this weekend. Fingers crossed. 

The fair wound up being fun. I ate a baked potato and ice cream (not at the same time) and got the most delicious lime rickey with cherries. The previous lime rickey people had stopped coming several years back and this new one was here for the first time. I was so happy!

Also it was enormous.

I watched the horse pulls, saw some bunnies (I love bunnies so much!). and walked through the exhibits. It was a nice day. I even brought home some treats!

Caramel corn, a chocolate/caramel apple, some treats for Rita (which are in the freezer until she can chew again), a crocheted potato and resin unicorn. Did I need a potato and unicorn tchochke? Yes. Yes I did. The potato is cheering me on! 

Honestly, what's better than a hype potato? 
Nothing. Nothing is better than that.

Sorry. You're not really here for country fair content. Let's get back to the horses. They had Sunday and Monday off. Part of me felt like I should have ridden Monday, but I had a ton of things to do and that was really the only day to do it all. So I stuck to the plan. And then Tuesday I was really excited to ride them all. I felt so refreshed! And weirdly (ok, not at all weirdly) the horses were all great too! Even though it was raining all day. It was light, and I was determined. And it was great. 

Then, today, they were all great again! Today we warmed up as briefly as is fair to them, and then just popped over a few jumps. Eros was so perfect! He never got the zoomies, even when I made a mistake and he had to pop chip one. Usually that's what triggers the turbo boosters. But not today! He just loped right around like a perfect happy boy. Al was next, and he was just as good! I didn't quite do everything I had wanted with him, because bang and clang started clanging away about half way through the ride. Instead of quitting then though, we stayed to the other side of the ring and jumped a few more things. He was really good! Shiny was great too. She loves jumping, and the more complicated I make the courses, the more she gets invested in it. It's pretty cute. 

My plan for the rest of the week is flat rides tomorrow and then possibly another jump day Friday. Saturday and Sunday we'll just play by ear. I'm expecting a hay delivery sometimes in the next week or so too. I also met with a tree guy, so we'll be having tree work done here soon too. (Al's going to HATE that.) So much going on, I'm just going to need to be okay with not riding every day. The horses don't seem much worse for the wear with our somewhat light riding summer. Though I can see they've all lost a lot of fitness and muscle. I'm sure that bothers me a lot more than them. We'll get back at it eventually. Hopefully. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Phew! It's been busy the last two weeks! Sorry for my absence but the sleep deprivation was real! As you may recall, I had two full weekends of braiding and also my helper was off, so that meant wearing an extra hat and nine days on my own in the barn. And you know, what better way to cap off a busy time than to throw in fence repair that first weekend? 

So I've been trying to get the rest of my fence posts replaced for awhile now, and finally the person I hired had dates he could do it. Which happened to be that Saturday and Sunday of my first braiding weekend. AND THEN he asked if they could work on the yard clean up that same weekend. Sure why not? Of course, this was a little disruptive because it meant having one less turnout area. But what can you do? 

The first day he started late, so I was able to get Shiny out for a few hours before she had to come in, so that wans't too big of a change for us. But the second day they said they were starting early. But it seems, early to non horse people is not the same thing as early to horse people. So I didn't put Shiny out in her paddock and instead rotated her into the ring turnout. Turns out though, she could have had a couple of hours after all since they didn't start until close to 9. I was told the whole project would take two days, but since they're hours are not the same as mine... They haven't even finished Shiny's paddock yet. Which still leaves the ring and the med paddock. Sigh. At least it's started! 

I don't think this person is as experienced with fencing as I was lead to believe. He is doing some things really well, especially filling the holes around the posts. In the past, once it rains I end up with craters around the posts that need more fill, but they're actually tamping them down and filling with extra dirt as they go so that hasn't happened. But they don't seem to be aware of using the string method to keep the rails straight. So we will need to go over that when they come back to finish. (He was on vacation this past week so we're on pause.) I'm trying not to be annoying about it though, it needs doing, and it's not something I'm able to do myself. So patience it is! 

And of course, the yard clean up was also not without it's hiccups. At the very end of the day on Sunday around 6pm, one of the guys cut the power cord that feeds my pool. So then I had to get an electrician out Monday to fix that. I just want to point out that all this is going on while I'm trying to do barn chores  and ride during the days, and braiding all night. Thursday night to Friday I got a total of 2 hours sleep (thankfully I DID have my helper for Friday) and the next two nights I got 3 hours of sleep. To say I was overstimulated that entire weekend is an understatement! But it all got done! Well almost. Saturday they all got ridden, but Sunday I only wound up doing Eros. With all the interruptions all day from the clean up crew in the yard, it was after 4 when I got done with him, and I just waved the white flag. 

First weekend's braids:

Monday everyone had their usual day off, but I did the morning chores. I honestly don't remember what the rest of the day involved. Just house chores I think. Tuesday was Sophie's kid's last day here. She went back to Florida to start school on Wednesday. We miss her already! But they had a really fun ride Tuesday and I got the other two ridden also. Wednesday was more chores and riding. Thursday was going to be another very full braiding night. I had the same amount as the Thursday before, but this time they were split between two farms so more commuting time. I opted to just do chores and not ride Thursday so I could fit in a nap before I started braiding. Everything went fine in all locations. I got done around 4:00 and was asleep by 4:30. Admittedly, I started chores a little late Friday morning. I think it was close to 8 am when I fed breakfast. Thank goodness my horses are pretty patient. I was DRAGGING through the day and again opted not to ride in favor of fitting in a nap before braiding time. It's shocking how much longer chores take when you're running on less than 3 hours of sleep. But chores got done, horses had extra time in turnout, and then all my client horses got braided that night. Wash, rinse, repeat for Saturday. Thankfully, Saturday night I just had to braid in one location. I was home early, around 2 am and got four hours of sleep before starting chores in the morning! By this point I was only semi coherent, so opted again to not ride. This week was a wash anyway, might as well just start fresh on Tuesday, right? 

All of weekend #2's braids except for one tail I forgot to snap a photo of

Monday I did very little. I slept for 7 and a half hours which was like the longest night's sleep ever! Then I sat around and did some THQ work. Some laundry. Fed horses. Ran two errands. That was about it. Pretty much a total sloth day. GLORIOUS! Just what I needed! 

I finally got to ride all my horses again yesterday. They were all pretty good, especially after a five day vacation. Al had one big spook, but otherwise kept a lid on things, which again for all that time off was pretty good! Eros felt a little stiff, but he always does better in work. So that wasn't surprising. He got sounder and sounder as we went along. And Shiny felt just fine!

I'm not sure how many I'll get ridden today. I dropped Rita off at the vets this morning to get her broken tooth removed and have a dental. So I'm not sure what time I need to pick her up yet, they're going to call. And then we have family dinner tonight. So I may only end up getting one or two done. Is what it is! 

And that about catches you all up! Nothing too exciting around here, just chores and braids for the most part. Hopefully more fun to come though!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Guys. We got to ride all six days last week! A few of them were abbreviated rides because that's just the theme this year. But still counts! ALL THE HORSES, ALL SIX DAYS! 

Of course it wasn't without challenges. Sunday when I was on Al in the backyard for Sunday Funday (in the sidepull) a tree branch fell right in front of us. He hasn't moved that fast under saddle in years! I nearly fell of about 8 times during the kerfluffle, but he did keep my on top, so I give him much credit for rescuing me from the danger.

Our path from Al saving my life

That happened on Sunday, and then Monday evening, a couple of houses over they were doing some tree work. But it was a bunch of teen boys doing it... So Al is a little out of sorts so far this week. He really hates sounds involving trees. But we have started what I call Tiny Ring Tuesday in which Al works on a smaller section of the ring on Tuesday in hopes that his brain will be reinstalled for the rest of the week. It worked last week, so we'll see what we get today. Fingers crossed his angst doesn't last this time. Though I think it's fair that he's having some feelings after his "trauma". 

I don't really have much to report about riding these horses this week. For the most part, everyone was really good. Shiny's kid jumped her around Thursday. It was pretty steamy out so nothing too long or exciting happened. Al did a few jumps too but we were battling neighbor interference so we didn't do a lot. 

Wonder what my right hand was after here...

We didn't jump a second time last week because it would have been Saturday. But it was around 90 and the humidity was high, so we did very light flat rides instead. 

In other news, my replacement posts have been delivered to finish getting all of the fencing fixed up. I have a lot of rotten posts so they will be swapped out for fresh ones this weekend. Thank goodness. I have a few sections that aren't going to hold on much longer. 

I start braiding tomorrow night for what I like to call the Connecticut Olympics. I have 5 Thursday night, 3 Friday, and 2 Sunday. My helper in the barn is off this coming week too, so I'll be on my own in the barn for nine days. And I'll also be braiding the ending weekend of those nine days. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday again. I'm not sure how much riding will get done that weekend if any. I have two barns I'm braiding for those days (I call that weekend the beginner olympics) but don't have counts yet. I may have to braid all night, come home and feed breakfast, then sleep for a bit. THEN do stalls and turnout. If that's what happens the horses will just have a little vacation. I can only get so much done in a day! I don't think they'll mind either way. 

All that to say, I think I'm going to take another blog vacation next week, unless something truly exciting happens that I need to share. We'll see how the week goes. 

That's it from here! How are things where you are?

What's Up Wednesday

 

All that's up here really is all the rain! We haven't accomplished much of anything in the riding department. But you know what? It's okay. The horses are fine, albeit a little less fit that I'd prefer. Same for me. I've definitely put on some weight this summer which is hard. But it's life right? Hopefully the weather will calm down and we'll have a few good months of riding before winter returns. 

Unrelated photo of last night's little visitor

Things will be a little chaotic starting next Thursday as I have my two busy braiding weekends for our two local finals. And my helper is off that whole week in between because of a prior commitment. My plan is to just not ride much on the braiding days. I'll make it work! I don't think it will be as crazy as years past anyway, as the closer of the two finals moved to a much further away location. So I just have my two long time clients. The first week is just one of them, and the second weekend I should have both. I think it will be okay. And since I don't have to pay for help AND I'll be making some braiding money, I should be able to get the rest of the blankets I wanted for the horses this winter. Hopefully. 

As for the horses, everyone is good! Al is feeling a lot better since his vet work. Yesterday, Shiny's kid rode Eros while I was on Al. We were going to start introducing her to lateral work which Eros is the perfect teacher for that stuff since it's so easy for him. Al loved riding with Eros, it seemed to really make him feel comfortable. So comfortable that he actually very easily walked, trotted, and cantered around the entire ring without any bracing by the scary side. Miracle. Of course, that all got ruined as we were finishing up our rides. 

See that little dead stick of a tree from the middle to the right side of this photo? 
That's the tree I'm referencing in the next paragraph

With all the wet weather, there have been a lot of downed trees in my area. And I hadn't realized it, but one of the little dead trees between my neighbor and me uprooted itself. It mostly fell sideways, so it's not in anyone's way, and with all the leaves still out, you can't even really see it. But some of it must have caught up on something on the neighbor's side. So he decided the only time he could possibly mess with that was while I was riding. Not only that, but while someone else was riding here too. A minor no less. I swear. This guy is the most inconsiderate jerk I've encountered. So we were in the middle talking about what kiddo would try in a moment on Eros, when the trees started moving. Scared both horses. I said alright, I guess we better get off. Honestly. This dude was tinkering away in his garage all day. Came out just at that moment to mess with the tree. Then once we were back inside he retreated back to his garage. Tell me that's not intentional. He's the type that "punishes" people for their "mistakes". So since that tree grows on my side of the property line, I needed to be punished for it falling. (Mind you, he's the one that killed it. He over pruned all the trees so they would fall away from his yard if they fell. And then they all died.) Putting other people in danger seems a bit much to me though. Ugh. I wish that guy would move away. Hopefully Al isn't too scarred. That horse has the longest memory. Also please cross your fingers that he isn't planning to do it again today. That would be the last of me ever riding Al down that long side. 

Al ears here, seen at the "safe" side of the ring

That's really about all the excitement from here. I've scheduled my fence repair for also one of the braiding weekends. But I figure that's good because I won't be riding much then anyway. I can't wait to get that done because seeing these rotten posts is really stressing me out. I have a long list of things we're tackling over here. First being the fence. Then I need to get the truck AND the gator in for some maintenance (though not at the same time). Oh and also my trailer is beyone overdue for service. So that will be my focus once braid-a-palooza is over. Once all of that is taken care of... maybe then I'll have the bandwidth to do something fun and exciting with the horses.

I may need to wait until spring for these things, but I am feeling like it's time to do something other than plop around my backyard with these horses. I'm toying with the idea of some dressage lessons and maybe schooling shows with Eros. And I'd like to see if I can get that trainer that came out last year back for some lessons with Al. And maybe Shiny should do some unrated little jumper shows. I can't seem to get my ducks in a row at the moment to get any of this rolling. I think because I'm still trying to find my routine with the new helper. And all of these maintenance things that are needing my attention. I guess I've just been feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the things that required my focus. But I like that I'm feeling ready for more horsey fun. Step in the right direction! 

Anyway, that's just me trying to organize my life... Lol. Hope you're all having fun with your horses and not getting to waterlogged or overheated this summer! Do you also have a long list of maintenance derailing your horsey fun? Adulting! Am I right?!

What's Up Wednesday

 

We had kind of a light-ish end of the week/weekend. Which was  actually fine with me because there was plenty going on! My new helper was off Thurs, Fri, Mon, and Tues, so I was on full time barn duty all six days. Shiny's kiddo was away too helping out at a horsey sleep over camp in VT. I can't wait to hear all about it! Her friend's family owns it, so she was working with her friend. Kind of like camp councilors I think. Anyway, she's checked in a couple of times and sounds like it was lots of fun.

As for me and the horses... Thursday was a normal day. We got chores done, I dragged the ring, and everyone got ridden. I think Shiny jumped? Who can remember. I feel like it was a year ago. Lol! Friday was a busy day! I got chores done and rode Shiny. Al had the vet coming for 2ish, but I knew he'd be late because he was going to a big barn nearby first and they always surprise him with extra horses. Fortunately he was only about an hour late. Not too bad as these things can go! I first had that front tendon looked at before riding. It's been totally back to normal, but you know, best to have a professional take a look if possible. Doc agreed that it's a non thing. So that was good. Then I got on for an evaluation and we decided on some maintenance for Al. 

Those maintenance naps... nothing like it!

I was getting a little nervous that he wasn't going to wake up in time though... Because I needed to feed, shower, and leave my house by 6pm. Thankfully, Al was ready to eat in time and I made it! My niece was performing in Frozen. She played young Anna, and did the most wonderful job! She opened the show with a solo, and I was so proud of her. It was a sold out crowd too!

Saturday was another normal day except that Al had the day off. He stayed in from turnout, but we had a nice hand walk in the late afternoon and some grass after that. It was a lovely day!

Sunday was beautiful. Like one of those top ten perfect weather days. It was sunny and warm, but not hot. No wind. After chores were done, we got to have a proper Sunday Funday. Well. Al was still on vacation but he had a nice hand graze. The other two did a short bareback ring ride, and then meandered out in the backyard with snackies mixed in. Eros even ventured out away from the barn which can be hard to get him to do. That horse really hates nature. 

Monday the horses had off, which was good because my chore list is out of control these days. I got the barn done in the morning, then took Rita for a walk, and finally got down to work on laundry and a few other things around the house. 

The weather people were all threatening that Tuesday would be wet all day, but for once I was thankful they were wrong! It actually was an okay day. No rain, just very humid. Which was perfect because I was DYING to ride Al and see how he felt after his vet work. He felt significantly better, and was actually a lot more willing to go forward. Though that might be a by product of his four days off. Hard to say for sure. We are definitely rained out today as it's been pouring since 5am here. But that's okay. We needed the rain. We've had some deluges here in the past couple of weeks, but when it rains like that the water just runs off the ring. It doesn't soak in. So we were getting VERY dusty. The rain today is more steady and should have a chance to soak into the ground. 

That's about it from here. I plan to probably drag the ring tomorrow and get everyone flatted, then maybe Friday we can jump around a little bit. If the weather allows of course. Hope you all had a great week/weekend!